DeBary Hall

#2020EventSchedule #BuildingALocalReadership #CentralFloridasFabulousWildlife #SpringTea

/ Marcia Meara / 28 Comments

My favorite part of marketing is building a local readership. I’ve shared things about this many times, so many (most?) of you know this. I have this year’s dates scheduled, and know what I’ll be doing for January and February, though the rest are still To Be Announced. (Gotta see how many new slide shows I can put together, and which of my older programs have received requests for “reruns.”) But for those of you in this area, here is what I have so far. (NOTE: If you are a regular attendee, mark your calendars for the following dates, and stay tuned as I figure out which programs are going where.)

2020 Event Schedule

January

  • January 11 – Enterprise Museum – #CFFW – “Alligators & Crocodiles” 1:00 – 3:00pm FREE, no reservations required (Donations to museum gratefully accepted)
  • January 25 – Enterprise Museum – Book Release Open House – 1:00-4:00pm, Book reading at 2:00pm, hourly drawings for free signed books, FREE, no reservations required (Donations to museum always gratefully accepted!)

February

  • February 8 – Enterprise Museum #CFFW slide presentation “Furry Critters Part 2” 1:00-3:00, FREE, no reservations required (Donations to museum happily accepted)
  • February 22 – DeBary Hall – Springtime Tea – 11:00am, includes lunch and custom teas, reading, and book signing afterward. Call for reservations and price.

March

  • March 7 – Enterprise Museum – TBA
  • March 28 – Enterprise Museum – TBA

April

  • April 11 – DeBary Hall – TBA
  • April 18- Enterprise Museum – TBA

May

  • May 2 – Enterprise Museum – TBA
  • May 9 – DeBary Hall – TBA
  • May 23 – Enterprise Museum – TBA

June

  • June 6 – Enterprise Museum – TBA
  • June 13 – DeBary Hall – TBA
  • June 27 – Enterprise Museum – TBA

July:

  • July 11 – DeBary Hall – TBA
  • July 25 – Enterprise Museum – TBA

August:

  • August 8 – DeBary Hall – TBA
  • August 15 – Enterprise Museum – TBA
  • August 29 – Enterprise Museum – TBA

September:

  • September 12 – Enterprise Museum – TBA
  • September 26 – Enterprise Museum – Autumn Tea – 11:00am,  includes lunch and custom teas, reading, and book signing afterward. Call for reservations and price.

And here are the flyers I have so far:

January 11 – Enterprise Museum:

January 25 – Enterprise Museum

February 8 – Enterprise Museum

So happy to be getting 2020 underway with such fun programs, and a Release Party, of all things! My first, and I’m super excited about it! Hope to see many of you there, and at some of the other programs I’ll be presenting through the year! Happy New Year, folks, and may 2020 be our best year yet! 

Last Call! Afternoon Tea at DeBary Hall

/ Marcia Meara / 8 Comments

“Earl Grey, hot.” You know you want it! So don’t wait any longer to make your reservations for the Afternoon Luncheon and Tea at DeBary Hall on Saturday, 3/10/18, at 11:00. Reservations MUST be in by this Friday, 3/2/18. The cost is $25, and includes a delicious catered lunch, unlimited cups of custom-blended teas, a reading from one of my books, a Q&A session, and a signed copy of one of my novels (your choice).

Such a deal, eh? And all of the fun takes place at DeBary Hall Historic Site. Don’t miss out! Call today, as seating is limited: (386)668-3840

Looking forward to seeing your smiling face over a cup of Sarah’s Favorite Earl Grey, Rabbit’s Hazelnut Chocolate, or one of 8 other custom blended teas!

Don’t Forget! #DeBaryHall #CFFW Presentation Tomorrow at 2:00 PM

/ Marcia Meara / 10 Comments

One last reminder that I will be hosting a Central Florida’s Fabulous Wildlife presentation at DeBary Hall tomorrow afternoon, along with my very special guest, wildlife photographer Doug Little. This will be an introductory overview of my new, bi-monthly series, and I hope you’ll stop by to help kick things off. The series presentations will each focus on a different animal, or group of related animals, and I’m really excited about this opportunity to share photography and information on the critters that call the St. Johns River basin home.

Tomorrow’s presentation will be a teaser of the type of things to come, and a chance for you to ask questions and have some input into the things you’d like to see at future events. Doug will have his brand new 2018 calendars along, available for purchase and signing. And of course, I’ll have my books along, as well.

Hope to see YOUR smiling face in the audience tomorrow at 2:00pm! FREE, No Reservations Required!

DeBary Historic Site
198 Sunrise Blvd
DeBary, FL
(386) 668-3840

Last Chance to Register! #TeaWithTheAuthor at #DeBaryHall

/ Marcia Meara / 25 Comments

Hope those of you who live in area will consider joining me for this always-fun event! If you want to come, you must reserve your seat as soon as possible, no later than Monday morning, 12/4.

Here’s the scoop!

Recap: The $25 charge includes catered lunch, my custom-blended teas (named for characters in my books), a reading and Q&A session, and a signed copy (your choice) of one of my books.

Reservations should be made as soon as possible (no later than Monday morning), so we know how many lunches to order. Call Tracy at 386-668-3840 or email at tmestre@volusia.org and reserve your place today!

Can’t wait to see you then!

#SwampGhosts Presentation at DeBary Hall 5/20/17

/ Marcia Meara / 19 Comments


“Big Blue”
Opening Slide from My Swamp Ghosts Presentation

On May 20, 2017, I’ll be doing my favorite presentation at DeBary Hall Historic Site, and if you are in the area, I’d love to see you there. This talk features many beautiful photographs of the St. Johns River basin habitat, including birds and wildlife of the area. There is also a brief introduction to albino and leucistic alligators, and a section on the easiest way to ID the very few snakes in our area that you do not want to handle. The last section covers a bit on how I write, my inspiration board photos, and the challenges of starting a brand new career at a time when most are thinking about retirement.

I always include plenty of time for Questions & Answers during and after the presentation, and I can pretty much guarantee that there will be a whole lotta laughin’ going’ on! 🙂 This is a fun event, and if you can possibly come, please do! Meeting new readers is my favorite thing in the world, next to writing books for them. Here’s the pertinent information for those who’d like  to  attend:

Location: DeBary Hall Historic Site, 198 Sunrise Blvd, DeBary, FL 32713
(386) 668-3840
Time: 2:00 PM, Saturday, May 20, 2017
Cost: FREE, No Reservations Required

COME HAVE A FUN AFTERNOON LEARNING MORE ABOUT WHAT MAKES FLORIDA GREAT!

#MeetTheAuthor Tea at #DeBaryHall

/ Marcia Meara / 24 Comments

What a great group of ladies joined me yesterday for our tea and luncheon at DeBary Hall Historic Site! They were very forgiving of their heavily medicated and somewhat “croaky” hostess, and were an especially engaging group. Nothing like spending time with fellow readers! (It’s especially exciting when MY books are among the things they read, 😀 !)

Truly, they made the afternoon so much fun, I almost forgot how sick I’ve been. Loved meeting every single one of them, and hope they enjoyed themselves as much as I did!

My heartfelt thanks to DeBary Hall for giving us such a beautiful venue to hold these very special events, and to each of the lovely ladies who attended yesterday! Can’t wait to do it again, hopefully this fall.

I’m Back. Mostly.

/ Marcia Meara / 36 Comments

jackie2

Finally Getting to Meet Jackie, One of My WONDERFUL Beta Readers!

Hi, Everyone! Just wanted to touch base with you good folks to let you know I have not abandoned you. Lately, Life has just been a bit . . . errrmmm . . . challenging, shall we say. The past six weeks or so started with a car accident, and concluded (I hope) with the passing of my mother, who had been ill a long time, and heavily sedated toward the end. I’m glad she is far beyond that now, in a better place, but it was still very sad, as I’m sure you can imagine, and posting on my blogs was just beyond me for a while.

So, without going into further detail, let’s just say I’m hopeful (insistent, really!) that November and December will be filled with positive, happy events. I’m going to do my part to see that they are. And to get the ball rolling, the smiles and laughter began in earnest on Saturday, at the Meet the Author Tea at DeBary Hall. What a great time I had, and I think everyone else did, as well. This was one of the best groups I’ve had the pleasure to visit with, and I can’t tell you how much their comments, questions, support, and encouragement did to inspire me. It was just what I needed.

I came home ready to plunge right back into my story, to finish That Darkest Place, the third Riverbend book. Yeah, I know the title doesn’t sound very cheery, but those who’ve read my books know that I often put my characters into some dreadful situations, just to let them discover how much strength and courage they have within. I won’t leave anyone actually IN that darkest place–unless, of course, they’ve earned it. I promise. 🙂

I need to spend a day or two catching up with my writing, and then another day or two catching up with my blogs, before it’s business as usual, here. I’ve had to unsub from many of your blogs, since I’m in the process of scrapping my old email address. Don’t worry if yours was one of the ones I’ve left. I’ll be RE-subbing under my NEW email address as soon as possible. Can’t wait to find out what you’ve all been up to during my absence. (And if you didn’t notice I was gone, all the better. Pay no attention to that woman behind the curtain. Just carry on as usual! 😀 )

Have a great Moon’s Day!

 

Self-Publishing Workshop at #DeBaryHall

/ Marcia Meara / 14 Comments

debary-hall-two-7136-hdr-edit
DeBary Hall Historic Site, 198 Sunrise Blvd, DeBary, FL

Two weeks from today, I’ll be giving a self-publishing workshop for beginners. I stress the “beginner” category, because I am not an expert in self-publishing, by any means. All I know is what worked for me. But at every Meet the Author talk I give, I’m asked detailed questions on how to go about publishing a book on Kindle and through Createspace, so it seemed like a good idea to set up an event where we can focus on the process.  I’ve published four novels and a book of poetry, so I do have a lot of tips to share, and plenty of suggestions for what authors should NOT do.  😀

If you are a new writer, or at least new to self-publishing, and you are in the area, please consider joining us for a three-hour discussion, with handouts,  at DeBary Hall, from 1:00 to 4:00, on Saturday, April 23. Reservations are required, so call Kayce Looper  at (386)668-3840 to reserve a seat. Hope to see you there!